O'Connor admits Geaney and Clifford could miss Donegal
Kerry boss Jack O'Connor admitted Paul Geaney and Paudie Clifford could miss the All-Ireland SFC Round 1 clash against Donegal in two weeks' time as injuries mount for the Kingdom.
Geaney played no part in the Munster SFC final victory over Cork at Fitzgerald Stadium, while Clifford was withdrawn at half-time after "feeling tight", according to O'Connor. The forward has previously suffered with a hamstring injury.
When asked if the star pair are doubts for the mouthwatering Donegal collision, O'Connor told RTÉ Sport: "They probably are, yeah. We have a lot of big hitters that are out at the moment so we've been badly hit with injuries, but to be fair, we've got on with it. And there's lads stepping up, which is great to see.
"The inter-county season is fairly intense, on top of a very intense club season that we play down here. So it's not like we're dogging fellas or anything. We're not training overly hard. With the run of matches now, there'll be very little training.
"But look, it's unfortunate. We just hope to get a couple back now for the Donegal match."
Kerry earned a sixth Munster title in a row, and a 13th in 14 years, in Killarney.
Cork hung tough up until close to the hour mark but in the final 10 minutes Kerry outscored their opponents by six points to one.
"We looked in trouble early on," O'Connor said.
"Cork got out of the blocks very fast and they got a four or five-point lead. But we picked away at it and there was quite a strong wind there. Maybe people didn't realise that if they were up in the stands but down at pitch level there was a significant wind and as I said, Cork opened on fire and kicked a couple of two-pointers.
"We just needed to hang in there until half-time, rejig a couple of things and I was very happy with the second half.
"The wind was important, particularly on kick-outs. (Kerry goalkeeper) Shane Murphy was able to get an extra 15, 20 yards maybe on some of the kick-outs that were clearing midfield and, you know, against the wind, sometimes you can be boxed in and it can be hard to break out.
"But I'm delighted with the second half, fierce contribution from the lads that came on. Like Tony Brosnan kicked five points, that's a massive bonus. Paudie was just feeling tight at half-time and we had to make a change there, but between head injuries and everything else, six or seven fellahs saw action from the bench, so delighted with that."
O'Connor was coy on whether he believed holding the draw for the All-Ireland series prior to the provincial decider detracted from the Munster final itself, stressing: "I think the media were more concerned about it than we were. We never mentioned it, not once. I never mentioned the word Donegal in training for the last week. I thought it was just unfortunate. It took away a little bit from a great occasion here.
"It was fantastic to see Fitzgerald Stadium full to the rafters, sun shining, all the Kerry people happy. Cork contributed in a big way to the occasion as well. Massive Cork crowd. I wish them well now in the future.
"Donegal will be a different proposition."
